Page 31 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Sebastian

Arabella was mine. She’d melted beneath me so beautifully, and I’d taken great pleasure in smearing her perfect lips with my paint and cum.

She was like a walking piece of art, and I was going to enjoy using her.

Reluctance did nothing for me, not when I had women throwing themselves like whores, begging to go to their knees. They wanted to tame me. Fix me like I was broken.

Arabella was different, she saw me fractured, my mind at the edge of sanity, and didn’t run. Her body responded to my rough touch, begged for it as she shattered around me several times. Even if I could see a stubbornness in those golden-brown eyes that made me want to punish her.

She was like a challenge, but even as she submitted to me, she seemed to be holding a small piece of herself back. But I wanted it all, craved it.

The women I usually fucked were just a physical release, nothing more, and nothing less.

I went because my body required it, but I felt just as empty after as I did before.

Even those women, the ones who liked the pain, would scream seeing me at my worst, when my nightmares and demons howled too loud.

Arabella had fucking screamed too, but only because my fingers were forcing pleasure.

I glanced to my left, unable to look away from her new choker, which did a great job of hiding the marks I’d left on her throat.

She was bored, and I’d clearly neglected her by leaving her alone for too long.

You need to be more wary of her, Sir. Mrs Potter’s words circled around my head, and I definitely should fire her. She’d become too attached, overstepping if she believed she had any right to speak to me so casually.

Arabella turned from where she’d been staring through the car window, finding me watching her. She didn’t look away, instead raising an eyebrow. Clicking a button on the door, I put up the partition so I was alone with her before pulling her onto my lap.

She froze as my hand found the slit in her dress, but she didn’t stop me, knowing not to touch me in return. It was different if I initiated it, and I found I enjoyed her weight because it gave me easier access to the soft skin of her thighs.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice reminding me of how gentle it had been earlier, how I almost fell asleep just from her reading.

I was going to make her do it often, before I painted her skin and then fucked her throat.

“Do you understand your role?” I asked instead.

“To sit still and look pretty,” she muttered, and I smirked beneath my mask at the way she straightened her spine. It made my cock ache, pressing against the fabric of trousers.

If I didn’t recognise that we were close to the docks, I would’ve seen if I could make my new favourite doll come again. Her moans were addictive, as was the way her face twisted when she came as if she was in pain.

“Good girl,” I whispered, amused with how her breath hitched.

I’d chosen her dress, Elena fitting it to her so it was slick to her body, black satin with a slit indecently high on the right side. The black matched her choker, the only colour being the red rose pendant.

She looked stunning, especially with my fingers marking her delicate skin.

“Keep your ears open and your lips sealed,” I added.

She looked over her shoulder at me, meeting my gaze without fear of repercussions. That fire was there, glittering embers that reminded me she wasn’t as innocent as she projected.

Mrs Potter had warned me that Arabella was hoarding some of my silverware underneath her bed, a few expensive pieces from the dining room set.

I was also certain one of my watches had mysteriously vanished, too.

I’d decided to not say a word, even telling the maids to leave them be.

I’d allow her to collect the expensive trinkets and let her believe she was clever, preparing for some grand escape.

I wanted her to think she had the upper hand.

Breaking her wasn’t the goal.

Not yet, at least. I wanted her hope alive, just enough to keep her fighting. Just enough to make it fun when she realised I was always in control.

“Hmm,” she hummed as I collared the front of her throat gently, my thumb brushing along her jawline. Those embers burned hotter, glittering with just a touch of arousal.

That’s right, she liked it when I dominated her, using her hair as an anchor so I could thrust faster, deeper into that mouth. My eyes traced her lips, and they parted like an invitation. So instead, I tightened my fingers, warning her.

“I told you to seal those lips.”

She laughed, an almost surprised sound that shot straight to my cock. Releasing my grip, I used my forearm to keep her where she was as we pulled up outside the restaurant just at the edge of the docks.

Langdon opened my door, having been following in another car along with Caden, a pale eyebrow raising when he noticed my lap. “Do I want to ask?” he signed before smirking. Shaking his head, he held out his hand, and Arabella hesitated before taking it, allowing him to help her out of the car.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her fingers moving clumsily to sign. Langdon turned towards me, that earlier smile slipping. Seemed she’d been busy in my absence.

Arabella looked between us, sensing the tension. Dropping her hands she looked over at Caden, who joined us on my other side. A gun was on his hip, visible on the belt. Langdon’s was in his palm, where it would remain for the duration while mine was tucked in a holster beneath my arm.

I wasn’t a fan of guns; they were too impersonal. Too fast. I much preferred my fists.

James ‘Hook’ Holland stood at the entrance to his restaurant, his dark hair knotted on the top of his head. “Beast,” he greeted, holding out his hand, which he quickly dropped when I didn’t move.

Hook’s smile strained, his black circled eyes lingering on the guns before finally meeting my gaze and then my mask.

“And here I thought we were catching up like old friends.” He turned his back, walking inside the three Michelin star seafood restaurant with the expectation that we would follow .

Caden went first, with Langdon coming up behind. There was a noticeable hush when I stepped inside, only breaking once we followed Hook into the private room in the back. He was flagged by his own men, five in total, all standing along the back wall with their own weapons on display.

A table had been set up for two, which he quickly clicked his fingers for another chair.

Waiting until Hook sat, I looked towards Arabella, who scooted into the corner seat. Caden and Langdon immediately took up their positions, protecting our backs.

“I’d heard you’d paraded around a pet, but I thought you’d just added to your collection of spiders.

She’s pretty.” Hook clearly wasn’t one of the smartest men as he leaned towards Arabella.

“Tell me about yourself, darling,” he asked her, but when she remained silent, he clicked his tongue.

“Cold, that one. I hope she’s warmer between the sheets than that glare she’s giving me.

Otherwise, she might freeze your cock off. ”

“Careful,” I warned, but Hook simply laughed.

“So, your man with the annoying watch has filled me in,” he began, pouring us both a glass of rum. “You know I have other contracts, right? I’m not at liberty to share confidential information on my other clients, the same way I don’t share yours.”

“I’ve come to believe my product’s been tampered with.” The rum burned down my throat, the bottle clearly from Hook’s personal collection.

Hook relaxed back in his chair with a confident smirk. “Not by us.”

“How confident are you on that?” Caden retorted dryly.

Narrowing his eyes at him over my shoulder, Hook returned his attention to me. “What do you know that I don’t? ”

Caden explained Eight’s confession, while the entire time I watched Hook’s reaction to see whether it was genuine.

“I wouldn’t want our working relationship to end over this,” I said.

“Don’t fucking threaten me,” he growled, his usual cocky demeanour breaking. “You need my ships to reach the rest of the continent, as well as your connections across the sea.”

“You really believe you’re my only option?” He wasn’t, but he was the best. We held a symbiotic relationship I didn’t want to burn if I could help it, but that depended on how much Hook knew about my powder being corked.

Hook gnawed on his bottom lip, head tipped back in thought.

After a moment, he took a sip of his rum. “What can you offer me for this knowledge? Your accusation comes from none other than an addict, and therefore an unreliable source.”

“Would you risk my contract over it?”

Hook’s nostrils flared, debating whether to trust my threat. After a moment he laughed, which made the men at his back tense. “You’re such a prick, you know that?” Reaching over to one of his men, he gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him down.

Stumbling, the man followed, only for Hook to whisper in his ear.

“Of course, Captain,” he said, adjusting himself before disappearing through the door.

“Now, I think we should discuss the elephant in the room. It’s out of character to bring a date. Are you going soft on me, Beast?” Hook swished his rum in his glass, turning to Arabella. “Blink twice if you’re being held against your will. ”

My hand slipped inside her dress’s slit, the skin of her thigh soft and warm. “You’re testing my patience.”

“Trust me, he may act like the big bad wolf, but he’s nothing against my kraken,” Hook continued, undeterred.

Arabella’s upper lip twitched. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

My fingers dug into her thigh, because of course she couldn’t follow a fucking order. A snort came from behind us, followed by a chuckle. “Langdon called you a wet fish,” Caden said, clearly translating.

Hook licked along the rim of his rum. “I’m sorry, mute. I couldn’t hear you; you might want to say it louder.”

“How vile of you,” Arabella snapped. “He can communicate absolutely fine without his voice.”

Hook choked on his rum, spitting it across the table. “You have a feisty one there, are you sure she’s your taste? Because she’s definitely more like mine.”

Langdon stepped forward, making sure his hands were visible to Arabella. She frowned, unable to understand while I shook my head.

“He said don’t bother with the tripod,” I translated.

Surprise flashed across her face, and Hook grinned at her reaction. She really needed to learn to hold back her expressions. “Don’t worry, darling. A croc may have taken my leg, but my cock still works like a charm.”

“There are no wild crocs in Europe, you fucking muppet,” Caden muttered.

“Who said it was wild?” Hook chuckled just as there was a knock. “Ah, there he is, the man of the hour.”

The door opened, revealing a short, white-haired man. “Captain, you called for me?” he said, stumbling back when he noticed me at the table.

“You’re not even a fucking Captain,” Langdon signed beside me, face twisting in disgust. “You’re scared of water.”

Luckily, Hook couldn’t understand sign. “Hi there, mate, please come join us.” He stood, patting what I assumed to be Smithy on the shoulder in an aggressive manner and pushing him down into his vacated seat.

“Captain?” he warily asked, eyes darting between everyone in the room.

“My friend here has a few questions to ask.” Reaching over to his own glass, Hook downed the rest of his rum before topping it up again, but this time he placed it in front of Smithy.

“Now, I’d suggest you answer them, because I said you were a true and honest bloke, and you know how I don’t like to be called a liar. ”

Squeezing Smithy on the shoulder, Hook reached over to one of his other men’s belt, pulling out a knife. He slammed it onto the table, the blade curved.

“Now, have you been fucking with Beast’s powder?”